Defense Digest

Volume 9, No. 4, December 2003

Index of Articles

• On The Pulse ….Williamsport, Pa Office Profile
  By Robert A. Seiferth, Esq.
  Known best for Little League baseball, Williamsport, Pennsylvania is also the focal point for business, commerce, and the practice of law in North Central Pennsylvania...
   

• On The Pulse … Liquor Liability Practice Group
  By R. Anthony Michetti, Esq.
  Our group concentrates on the representation of liquor licensees and social hosts involving significant personal injuries and death...

• Chairman's Message
  By Robert J. Coleman, Esq.
  As I have espoused on countless occasions, our Firm prides itself on being innovative...

• Revisiting The Role Of Res Ipsa Loquitur In Medical Malpractice Cases
  By John Hare, Esq.
  On May 29, 2003, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision that sharply limits the use of res ipsa loquitur in medical negligence cases...
   

• The Admissibility Of Vehicle Photographs And The Correlation Of Minimal Damage With Minimal Injuries
  By Kevin J. Connors, Esq.
  The Supreme Court of Delaware altered a long standing rule on the issue of whether photographs of a vehicle involved in a crash were admissible...

• UM/UIM "Step Down" May Step Up to the NEW Jersey Supreme Court
  By Paul C. Johnson, Esq.
  A "step down" provision in a UM/UIM insurance policy may reduce the amount of insurance coverage available to a potential claimant...

• Securities Arbitration Awards: What Are Your Rights To Challenge the outlandish recovery?
  By Peter B. Andrews, Esq.
  If you are the unfortunate recipient of an unfavorable or "outlandish" securities arbitration award, what are your rights?

• What Did She Know And When Did She Know It: Winning An Application Fraud Case
  By John J. Mastronardi, Esq.
  T he New Jersey Fraud Prevention Act ... material misrepresentations on the insurance application...

• Owners Of Registered But Uninsured Vehicles Beware Pennsylvania Superior Court Ruling Makes First Party Benefits Unrecoverable
  By Vlada Tasich, Esq.
  Recently, the Pennsylvania Superior Court decided that owners of registered but uninsured vehicles were precluded from receiving medical and wage loss benefits from anyone’s policy...

• The Open-And-Obvious Doctrine Remains Open For Use And Obviously Forceful In Ohio
  By J. Christopher Reece, Esq.
  The Ohio Supreme Court holds that the open-and-obvious doctrine remains viable in Ohio as a complete bar to recovery...
  

• Pennsylvania Supreme Court Clarifies "Reasoned Decision" Under Section 422(A)
  By Daniel Deitrick, Esq.
  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court addresses the "reasoned decision" requirement in a case where the Workers' Compensation Judge was presented with conflicting evidence...
    
• The Trend In Construing The Ohio Employer Intentional Tort Exception – A Consistent, Workable Standard Or Confusing, Expansive Quandary?
  By Samuel G. Casolari, Jr., Esq. and Kimberly Boyer, Esq.
  The Ohio Supreme Court has fashioned an exception to the rule of exclusivity of the Ohio workers' compensation system under which an employer can be held liable to an employee in common law for intentional torts...
   
• No Right To Jury Trial In First Party Bad Faith Action Filed In Pennsylvania State Court
  By Seth Schwartz, Esq.
  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court clarified that there is no right to a jury trial in a first party bad faith action brought in Pennsylvania state court ...
   
• Florida Passes Medical Malpractice Caps
  By G. Mark Thompson, Esq. & Adam C. Herman, Esq.
  Florida legislation curtails jury awards in medical malpractice cases...
   

• New Trials Granted From Defense Verdicts Where Uncontested Evidence Negligence Caused Some Injury
  By Bradley J. Goewert, Esq.
  In two recent cases from the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, new trials were granted from defense verdicts where the evidence was uncontested that the negligence caused some injury to the plaintiffs...

• Pennsylvania Superior Court Limits Use of Frye When Seeking to Exclude Expert Scientific Evidence
  By Christopher E. Dougherty, Esq.
  This article examines two Pennsylvania Superior Court decisions that limit the use of Frye when defense counsel seek the preclusion of expert testimony in Pennsylvania courts...
   
• On The Pulse … OUR LITIGATION ACHIEVEMENTS... We Are Proud Of Our Attorneys For Their Recent Accomplishments...
   

• Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Application To Private Employers
  By Sharri H. Horowitz, Esq.
  The Sarbanes-Oxley Act applies civil whistleblower protections, rules governing chief financial officer ethics, and attorney rules of professional responsibility to security firms...

• On The Pulse… Other Notable Achievements
    
• Third Circuit Rules Plaintiff Failed To Follow Pennsylvania Procedure For Petitioning Grand Jury Files
  By Joseph J. Santarone, Jr., Esq. and James M. Caponi, Esq.
  Subject to certain limited exceptions, matters occurring before a county investigating grand jury may not be disclosed in the absence of an order from that grand jury's supervising judge...
   
• Intentional Torts and Coverage For Workplace Torts in Ohio
  By Samuel G. Casolari, Esq.
  The court of appeals analyzed recent Ohio case law, and determined that an intent to injure will be inferred as a matter of law in substantial certainty cases...